EASTHAMPTON – The City Council Property Subcommittee will be meeting Tuesday to talk about the Parsons Street School.

Mayor Michael A. Tautznik has asked the council to authorize the sale of the 111-year-old building and the subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full council.

The council can restrict the use of the building if it does authorize a sale.

The School Committee in May authorized the building to become surplus since it is no longer needed. The site had been used for storage after closing as a school in 2003.
Tautznik said the city spends about $30,000 a year to maintain the building and he'd like to sell it before winter.

In July, 15 people attended a Planning Department meeting on what they would like to see the building used for and offered myriad suggestions, said City Planner Jessica Allan. She expects an even bigger crowd Tuesday night to talk to the subcommittee.

Some asked that the city keep the building, others said a preservation restriction be placed on it. Some wanted to see it used as an educational, arts or cultural site or as a mixed use building with retail on the first floor and residences on the second. Some wanted to see a townhouse size development or owner-occupied residential units. Others opposed the use of the building for any housing at all.

The Northampton-based Valley Community Development Corp. will be building a 38-unit project of affordable homes on Parsons Street, a project that some in the neighborhood opposed. The project is expected to go out for bid this month.

Tautznik said the building could be developed into apartments or condos, but it also could be razed. He said it is not on any historic register and not protected.

According to city assessor records, the total assessed value of the property and buildings is $1 million.